August sees post-Brexit confidence on the rise

A longrunning industry analyst group has posted strong results for rising consumer confidence following the 26-year low that happened after the Brexit referendum.

The latest GfK Survey of shopper attitudes, a respected barometer of consumer opinion, has reported a five-point rise from last month. The survey has been carried out since 1974 and is conducted Europe wide.

All five measures used to calculate confidence rose this month to -7.5, up from -9.2 in July following the referendum. Prior to the decision it stood at -1.2.

Shoppers say they are more confident in their personal finances and more optimistic about the economy.

The study also shows shoppers are more likely to break into their saving in order to make a big purchase.

Strong high street sales, an increase in employment and a healthy stock market are all thought to be factors in this return to confidence.

The Bank of England‘s safety measures package is also thought to be a strong factor, offering a safety net to households and businesses.

“The uptick in confidence is driven by good news from hard data, the combination of historic low interest rates matched with falling prices and high levels of employment,” head of market dynamics Joe Staton said.

Despite this rise in confidence figures are still in negative numbers and there are significant increases to be made to return to last years‘ overall rating of seven.